How to make bánh mì

"Pork roll" or "banh mi" – it goes by a few names but whatever you call it, it's a thrilling lunch, jumping with flavour and texture, that costs about $5 and comes after less than five minutes in a queue.

Banh mi means bread in Vietnamese – but not just any bread. It's a roll that has a wide scar along its top, a thin crust that shatters on impact – raining crumbs on the biter – and a light, soft, snow-white centre. Crusty white bread rolls and filter drip coffee became part of Vietnamese cuisine during the French colonial period (1887-1954) when Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos were known as French Indochina.

The classic pork roll or banh mi thit nguoi is a terrific twist on the humble Western-style sarnie: a happy mix of Euro and Asian flavours. It's made with house-made mayo (from egg yolks and vegetable oil) and liver pâtè (usually chicken liver), three types of pork cold cuts (pork loaf, roast pork and jelly-meat terrine), salad (coriander sprigs, shredded pickled carrot, cucumber, onion) and chilli, which is optional but essential to obtain the full range of flavours the roll can have. It's a blast of hot, cool, sweet, salty and earthy – and crunchy, chewy, soft and firm.

Banh mi

The classic N. Lee banh mi has a good swipe of pate and bread baked on site. Photo: Simone Egger

Each bakery has its quirks: some use a squirt of soy sauce, some leave out onion, others shred daikon in with the pickled carrot. And each bakery has at least half a dozen different fillings, including a hot barbecue pork version and a meatball banh mi. And as about 60 per cent of Vietnamese-born people in Melbourne are Buddhist, most places make a vegetarian version, too.

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A ubiquitous street-cart item in Vietnam, you'll find Vietnamese bakeries making banh mi in Melbourne's original Vietnamese enclaves of Footscray, Springvale and Richmond, where communities became established in the 1970s and 80s due to the suburbs' proximity to migrant hotels and access to relatively cheap housing.

But, as Vietnamese food has become more mainstream, bakeries have sprung up all over the place, including the central business district. So, if a lively lunch for under $5 sounds appealing, get in the queue at a banh mi sandwich bar.

The lunch rush at Roll'd. Photo: Penny Stephens

N. Lee

From the original N. Lee bakery in Collingwood, which opened in 1991, classic banh mi have a good swipe of pâtè and fab bread baked on site. Baked-Banh mi also come with pork meatballs, chicken kebab, roast beef and grilled pork fillings.

The queue at Footscray's always heaving outlet moves quickly with five bright orange-coated women stuffing buns at pace. The rolls are a standout and the fillings fresh, including sliced white onion. Nhu Lan does a veg, salad roll that gives the porky version a run for its money. It costs $2.60 and replaces cold cuts with crisp-fried shallots and crushed peanuts.

Heavy on the meat, including a thick layer of chicken-liver pâtè and a fatty roast pork, Hot Bread's banh mi includes shredded daikon and a squirt of soy sauce. Among its variations is a veg option, with vermicelli and shredded fried tofu flecked with ground rice and five-spice ($4).

Though Sunny's rolls can be a little wan and at times the salad a little wilty, it uses a generous amount of meatloaf that's deliciously infused with cinnamon and star anise which lifts the entire experience and adds an extra dimension to the classic banh mi.

The buns might still be warm, fresh from the oven. Here, a classic pork banh mi may be heavy on the meat and include a roast pork which may have a too-chewy rind; the smidge of coriander and cucumber comes with a king hit of whole spring onion stems. Bun Bun does at least nine versions.

Saigon's "mixed ham" roll has four cold cuts, instead of the usual three, and the fourth is a peppery spiced ham. The extra layer of meat tips the balance to meaty, though there's a good whack of coriander stems, and a splodge of soy to finish off.

Roll'd is not a bakery but a funky Vietnamese cafe that serves just five Vietnamese lunch favourites (including pho and rice-paper rolls). Its banh use exemplary bread and burst with salad and meat. At $6.60 they cost a little more than their competitors' do. Roll'd also does a noteworthy roast pork with crackling banh mi.

What have we missed? Jump on the comments and tell us your favourite banh mi hotspot.

55 comments so far

List is worthless without Fresh Chilli Deli in Hampshire Road, Sunshine. Best banh mi in Melbourne, hands down, and only $3.80!

Commenter

Sir Lolsworthy

Location

Date and time

February 01, 2013, 10:29AM

Totally agree Sir Lolsworthy. On at least 5 occassions I have driven from Seaford to Sunshine just to get a couple of Fresh Chilli's pork rolls, brilliant.Other than that, most in Footscray, Richmond and Springvale are all good. Kingsville Bakery in Springvale a consistent favourite with the great warning on the counter - "Eat immediately or die!" - Just kidding but you get the point...

Commenter

Randolf Quaid

Location

Seaford

Date and time

February 01, 2013, 12:18PM

Sorry, but I totally disagree. Fresh Chilli Deli makes some of the worst banh mi in the West, reflected in their fast-food outlet style delivery. If you want awesome, authentic banh mi just go next door to Selina Hoang Lan Hot Bread

Commenter

Daniel

Location

Meelbourne

Date and time

February 01, 2013, 1:07PM

Isabellas cafe in South Melbourne, just opposite the market. $5 for a vietnamese pork or chicken roll that tastes amazing, with friendly service, as well as only $2 for an apple scroll if you are still peckish afterward.

Commenter

Minx

Location

Date and time

February 01, 2013, 11:24AM

totally agree i don't know what I'd do if I didn't get a pork roll fix at Isabellas. Doesn't look much from the outside but like the pork roll it's what's inside that counts.

Commenter

Hooli

Location

Date and time

February 03, 2013, 6:32PM

Jenny's Bakery Riversdale Rd, Camberwell. There's a very good reason this place is so crowded at lunch - and it isn't the decor.

Commenter

Yum

Location

Heaven

Date and time

February 01, 2013, 12:12PM

Yep, Jenny's is good. Not really traditional but excellent all the same.

Commenter

Muggins

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

February 01, 2013, 3:23PM

I agree.Jenny's do great rolls and the satay sauce is awesome - cheap as chips...

Commenter

n1c0la

Location

Date and time

February 01, 2013, 4:52PM

Ahhh... Jenny's.

I'm a fan of their chicken satay and salad roll personally... I survived off 2 of them daily while at Uni! (With an occasional caramel slice if I could afford it). Cheapest, tastiest feed in the area.